NejiLee
The Couple NejiLee (Japanese ネジリー) is the term used to refer the romantic relationship between Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee. Their Relationship Background Team Guy was formed a year before the story began. They all sat together and told Guy their hopes and ambitions. When Lee declared that his dream was to prove that he can be an amazing ninja even though he lacks the ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, Neji laughed. Lee pointed to Neji and asked him what he found so funny about Lee's dream. Neji told Lee that it was ridiculous and pointless. Throughout the year, Guy encourages Lee and Neji to be rivals and practice their taijutsu against each other, although Neji always won. Part I Chunin Exams Arc Team Guy is introduced when they are being bullied by two apparently older children and prevented from entering the room for the chunin exams. Tenten and Lee are pushed over and weakly fall to the ground. However, this is revealed to be a ruse they had planned to put on to avoid attracting attention for their abilities. Lee blows this when he quickly moves to stop the fight between Sasuke and a chunin, effortlessly holding them both back. Neji gets onto Lee, reminding Lee of the plan that was Lee's suggestion in the first place. Lee apologizes to them for getting too excited. Later, after Lee has fought Sasuke, Lee mentions that the strongest genin in their entire village is his teammate and rival, Neji. In the forest, Team Guy is discussing how they plan to go about collecting the scrolls. They decide to split up and search separate, then meet back after a specified amount of time. Tenten and Neji both make it back to their meeting spots, but they notice that Lee is late, which is unusual for him. Tenten and Neji appear during the latter stage of the Hidden Sound ninja's fight against Sakura. Neji is unconcerned with most of them, but he notices Lee lying hurt and unconscious on the ground. Neji tells the Sound ninja that the boy they beat is his teammate, and they were going to pay for hurting him like that. Neji prepares to fight, but stops and decides he doesn't need to after all when he senses Sasuke's chakra and murderous intent towards the Sound ninja. Once Tenten wakes up Lee, Team Guy goes back to search for their scroll. During the next phase of the chunin exams, Lee stops Naruto from fighting Neji after Neji's match with Hinata. Lee is determined to win his fight because he wants to go onto the next round, inspired by Neji's, Naruto's, and Sasuke's victories. Neji is impressed and surprised by Lee's prowess in his fight against Gaara. When Lee loses, Neji looks noticeably sad. He remarks with pity that Lee was unable to understand even in the end that no matter how much Lee fought, it was impossible to overcome destiny. Lee and Guy were late to the final round of the chunin exams, and they were surprised to hear that Neji had lost his fight with Naruto. Sasuke Recovery Mission Although Lee is unable to join himself, Lee recommends Neji for the Sasuke Recovery Team. Part II Kazekage Rescue Mission Team Guy teams up with Team 7 for a mission. On their way to the hideout, Team Guy is stopped by Kisame, who traps Neji, Lee, and Tenten in water prisons to fight with Guy one-on-one. Neji is eventually able to build up enough chakra to free himself and Lee, leaving Lee to rescue Tenten. Later, when the mission is complete, Kakashi is too exhausted from his use of the Mangekyou Sharingan to walk home by himself, so Guy is assisting him. Annoyed with how slow they are moving compared to their students, Guy opts to help Kakashi by giving him a piggyback ride home instead. Although everyone else is off-put by this mode of transportation, Lee excitedly thinks that it must be some new form of training. Lee bends forward and asks Neji to get on his back as well, but Neji flatly refuses. Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax Lee sobs and holds Neji's dead body in his arms when he sees what has become of his rival. Thinking back on his time with Neji growing up and the conversations they had, Lee mused about something Neji had said to him. At first, Neji had flat refused the idea of a rivalry with Lee, saying that the difference in their power was simply too great, and no amount of hard work would ever allow Lee to match up with Neji. However, after Neji's fight with Naruto, Neji had noticeably changed. Neji asked Lee if Lee had been watching the fight. Neji goes on to wonder aloud what he had been doing all this time. Neji smiles at Lee and tells him that he hopes to go all out with him someday to test and see which of their styles was truly the strongest. It was then that Neji truly seemed to acknowledge Lee as his rival. Lee respectfully closes Neji's eyes before joining the ranks of the other Allied shinobi, determined to avenge him. Birth of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki In Lee's Infinite Tsukiyomi dream, Neji is still alive. Lee dreams of finally defeating Neji and Naruto with the Power of Youth. Blank Period Konoha Hiden Lee regularly dreams of Neji, but the dreams never last long enough for Lee's liking. Neji gives Lee advice on what he should choose as Naruto and Hinata's wedding gift and encourages him not to give up. Evidence *Guy encouraged Neji's and Lee's rivalry. *Neji and Lee have philosophies on life that placed them at odds, and both wanted to convince the other to see the world from their perspective. After Neji's loss against Naruto, Neji comes to acknowledge Lee's point of view on destiny and hard work. *Neji was furious with the sound ninja team when he saw that Lee had been hurt and knocked out in the forest during the chunin exams. *After the chunin exams arc, Neji comes to have great respect for Lee and really does believe that he will get stronger. *When Neji dies, Lee is the most visibly torn up over it at the time and during the funeral, openly sobbing and holding Neji's body.Manga: chapter 616, 699 Quotes Neji to the Sound ninja, after seeing Lee hurt and unconscious - Chapter 55 * "That knocked out freak right there is from our team, and... you're going to pay for that!" Neji in the flashbacks Lee has after Neji's death - Chapter 617 *"...Did you watch the match... that I lost? Lee, so far, what have I... Lee, one day I want to fight you all out... to find out which is stronger between my style and yours. But as long as I'm alive, I'm not going to lose!" Databooks First Databook - Rock Lee's Character File *Lee has no talent for ninjutsu and genjutsu. He had just a little talent for taijutsu, and only a great desire to improve himself. He doesn't have things like the personality of a cool young man who looks down on hard work and willpower. That's probably why he has a burning, intense antagonist spirit against the geniuses Neji and Sasuke. If you work hard, you can achieve anything... If he didn't think so, Lee's life would be empty, and he would scream when he felt too sad. Trivia *Both tend to place well in the Naruto Character Popularity Polls. Neji and Lee are roughly matched in overall popularity. Among the Fans NejiLee is one of the less popular ships for Neji and for Lee, but it still has a fair amount of fans. It is likely supported due to the two of them being rivals and close friends. Its rival pairings are NejiTen , LeeTen , and GaaLee . References Category:Couples involving Neji Category:Couples involving Lee Category:Konoha couples Category:Fanon Couples Category:Yaoi Couples